I got a degree from Douglas College in programming and business management. I understood the business side more and was better at that than at being a coder.
The first step to sustainability is seeing that there is no boundary between you and nature. When we see this essential connection and reverse the artificial disconnections created over millennia, people can imagine a future where we all thrive with a regenerated ecosystem.
Shredded paper is especially difficult to recycle, so many programs will not accept it. Shredding accelerates fiber shortening and lowers the paper grade from high-grade to mixed-grade. Mixed-grade paper is still recyclable, but it ends up baled and processed into products like paper towels and packing paper.
Last week, I was making my morning coffee-you know, the complicated order I'm too embarrassed to say out loud at coffee shops-when I noticed the pile of used grounds in my filter. For years, I'd been tossing these straight into the trash without a second thought. But then I remembered something my grandmother wrote in one of her letters years ago: "The garden teaches us that nothing is truly waste."
Nobody wants a landfill in their backyard, which is exactly why the companies that own them print money. The waste management industry is an oligopoly disguised as a utility. Garbage never stops, permits for new landfills are nearly impossible to obtain, and the handful of players controlling North America's disposal infrastructure enjoy pricing power that makes telecom companies jealous. These stocks compound predictably through recessions, inflation cycles, and regulatory shifts.
Cities around the world share a common goal: to become healthier and greener, supported by civic infrastructure that restores ecosystems and strengthens public life. The question is how to reach this. Global climate targets, local building codes, and municipal standards increasingly guide designers and planners toward better choices. Still, many cities struggle to translate these frameworks into everyday, street-level comfort and long-term ecological protection.
